Marketer A-List 2018: Coca-Cola

Coming into 2018, the Coca-Cola Co. faced a choice: Keep shoveling marketing dollars into a slumping Diet Coke, or give up on a brand that seemed way past its prime.

The marketer opted to go all-in back in January with the biggest product and marketing makeover in Diet Coke's 36-year history. The push included new flavors, a packaging overhaul and an expensive ad campaign by Anomaly aimed at broadening the brand's traditional consumer base beyond baby-boomer women.

The decision paid off: U.S. dollar sales for Diet Coke were up more than 2 percent through the last week in October, according to Nielsen data cited by the company. That's a big turnaround, considering that Diet Coke's sales had fallen 3.7 percent in the 52 weeks ending Dec. 2, 2017.